'If we didn’t have naloxone, our death rate would be insane': Program coordinator describes Porter County opioid fight

Armed with local, state and national statistics, Cara Jones provided a look at where Porter County has been in its struggle with opioid addiction, and a way forward.

Jones, an AmeriCorps member who is coordinator for the United Way of Porter County’s “United Against Opioid Abuse” program, presented her findings to a roomful of representatives of service agencies and non-profits Thursday.

Both Indiana and Porter County are above the national average for prescribed opioids, Jones said, adding Porter County is in the top 5.5 percent of counties nationwide where opioids are involved in accidental poisoning as a cause of death.

Nonfatal overdoses from opioids increased 134 percent from 2015 to 2016, Jones said, adding figures for last year were not yet available.

“If we didn’t have naloxone, our death rate would be insane,” she said, referring to the opioid antidote.

There were 50 drug-related fatalities in Porter County last year, with 43 of them related to opioids, she said, adding that preliminarily, according to the Porter County Coroner’s office, there were 14 deaths this year through the first week of July.

So far this year, Valparaiso has had the greatest number of overdoses, followed by Portage and Chesterton, Jones said.

In community conversations with a wide array of people representing law enforcement, treatment providers, the recovery community and students, Jones said an assortment of points came to the surface, including the desire for more dialogue within the community and the challenges of the stigma of addiction.

Ways of managing the crisis include harm reduction for those using opioids.

“That’s naloxone and needle exchange programs,” she said.

Other possible options include “harm reduction clinics,” which Jones said are located in some Indiana counties and needle exchange locations without the needles. They offer resources, referrals, health testing, naloxone and training for using it, and safer user guidelines.

Other steps include early prevention, such as teachings life skills and coping mechanisms, Jones said, adding someone in recovery or a parent who lost a child to addiction has more credibility with students.

Scare tactics are ineffective, Jones said, adding students see their friends on social media having fun while engaging in substance abuse.

“We’re living in a very different world,” she said, adding students said they are more likely to listen to their peers.

Challenges also include the lack of resources for those seeking help, including more treatment facilities; the need for a detox facility; and aftercare, such as halfway houses and sober living facilities.

Other needs include a centralized place for resources and community opportunities, including jobs, housing and transportation.

“They just need the chance,” Jones said. “If they’ve made all this effort, we need to reward that.”